A longtime firefighter died after suffering a medical emergency while battling a brush fire Thursday in Hilliard.
James “Kevin” Crews, a members of the Hilliard Volunteer Fire Department, responded to a brush fire Old Dixie Highway Thursday around 5:20 p.m. when he was stricken.
According to the Town of Hilliard, crews on gave Crews medical attention and transported him to to UF Health where he passed away a short time later.
"Our department and our community have lost a hero," Hilliard Volunteer Fire Chief Jerry Johnson said in a statement. "Kevin was the epitome of courage and dedication. His sacrifice will never be forgotten. We are focused on supporting his family and our personnel during this unimaginably difficult time."
Officials said this was the fifth brush fire in the Hilliard area in the last week, as Florida firefighters are facing a number of brush fires amid an historic drought.
He was a two-year member of the Hilliard Volunteer Fire Department, assigned to Station 4. Prior to that, he was a firefighter in Ware County, GA.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, state fire investigators and Hilliard officials are investing the cause of the fire.
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Peter Matthews
Editor-in-Chief/Conference Director
Peter Matthews is the conference director and editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood Landing, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department and currently is a photographer for the Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department.